ISLAMABAD – President Dr Arif Alvi has listed his recommendations from the top 10 books he read in 2020.
Last year he had posted a similar list of his top 10 books that he read in 2019.
In a video message, Dr Alvi called for the promotion of book reading in the Pakistani society, saying the Pakistani youth should develop the habit of reading to enhance their exposure and help supress biases.
Alvi said he was very fond of reading books and whenever he travels, be it by car or airplane, he only reads books. Dr Alvi said he doesn’t get time to read while working in the office, but whenever he gets a gap in between, he picks up books to read them.
His recommended books are as follows:
1- Revelation by Mairaj Mohiuddin
2- Capital and Ideology by Thomas Piketty (on economic inequalities and suggestions of outlines for fairer economic systems)
3- The Anarchy by William Dalrymple (on the rise of East India Company and economic prosperity in subcontinent)
4- Upheaval: How Nations Cope with Crisis and Change by Jared Diamond (history of nations like Japan, USSR, and their efforts to overcome crises)
5- Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty by Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson (on the rise of the exploitative society which begets change and leads to revolution)
6- The Metric Society by Steffen Mau (measurement and evaluation in the society)
7- The Big Picture by Sean M. Carroll, Sean B. Carroll (scientific worldview and exploration of God)
8- Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence by Deckle Edge (how science is advancing and becoming a challenge for humanity)
9- Superintelligence by Nick Bostrom (on the growing influence of machines and possible replacement of human beings by super intelligence)
10- Art of Thinking Clearly by Rolf Dobelli (on human psychology and reasoning with 100 biases found in humans, meant for self-examination and methods to avoid them)
Other than these 10 best reads, the president also suggested:
– The End of India by Khushwant Singh (on the communal violence in Gujarat in 2002 and the rise of religious fundamentalism in India)
– Gujarat Files by Rana Ayub
– The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in islam by Allama Muhammad Iqbal
– Riot After Riot: Reports on Caste and Communal Violence in India by MJ Akbar
– Protocol by Capricia Penavic Marshall
– Makers of Modern Sindh by Dr Muhammad Ali Shaikh
– A Promised Land by Barack Obama
– Jinnah and Tilak: Comrades in the Freedom Struggle by AG Noorani
– Tuba by Shah Baligh-ud-Din
– The Last Mughal by William Dalrymple
– World Enough and Time by Sultan Muhammad Shah Aga Khan
The president said he considered that life is too short and his fondness for reading books is too big. He urged the youth of the country to take up book reading and expand their vision through books.
